Question and Answer

Interviews

What makes you want to write?

I've always been writing, since the time I could hold a pen. When I was in grade school, my favorite thing to do was make up a book and write a book report for it in school. Writing is my release, my escape, sometimes it's my way of exploring something that obsesses me.

How do you find your subjects?

I don't. They seem to find me. A lot of times I start out writing about one thing, and a novel will get stubborn and turn out to be about something else entirely. What interests me is always relationships, though. What happens in a family. What happens in a marriage. How do people manage to live their lives in the face of conflict.

What are your other passions?

Movies! Before our son was born, my husband and I used to see two or three films a night. Now we see videos and grab the baby-sitter when we can manage. I've also written some film scripts My novels Meeting Rozzy Halfway, Into Thin Air, and Living Other Lives all had film options and I talked the producer into letting me write the script. It's a whole different vocabulary from writing novels which is part of the excitement of it for me. I also read everything I can get my hands on, of course. And I love to cook.

Almost every writer has stories about the awful jobs they've had. What are yours?

Well, I've actually enjoyed all my jobs. I've walked dogs, been a telephone answering service operator (I was fired for mixing up Dr. Foot who was a podiatrist and Dr. Foot who was an obstetrician), a high school teacher, a copywriter, I've written Wishbone books for kids, too. Right now, I teach writing the Novel at UCLA online, which I love. I also am writing Nancy Drew Notebooks and I am a professional namer.

Excuse me?

I name things. Stores, clothing, lingerie, products. I come up with hundreds of names and then the names go through the computer to make sure they aren't obscene in some obscure language!

What advice would you give new writers?

Never give up. I know so many stories of writers whose books were rejected by 50 publishers who went on to sell their novel to the 51st. Have faith in yourself. Keep writing. Find yourself a community of writer friends who can support and cheer you on. And support independent bookstores. They're your friends.

Do you like hearing from fans?

Of course I do! Why wouldn't I want to know how a book of mine touched a reader (or annoyed him or her, for that matter?) I try to respond to as many of the emails and letters I receive as possible. I've become friends with some of my fans. One of my closest friends is a woman I met the week after my first novel came out.

What are you working on now?

I never really know what a novel is about until after many drafts. But right now, I'm writing the first draft of a novel which asks the question, how do we forgive the unforgivable?

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